0:12Skip to 0 minutes and 12 secondsJAMES LOGAN: Hello, and welcome to our course-- "Preventing the Zika Virus-- Understanding and Controlling the Aedes Mosquito." My name is James Logan, and I'll be your lead educator. I'm a professor of medical entomology and the director of Arc Tech at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where we develop and evaluate technologies aimed at controlling insects and other arthropods, particularly those of medical importance. An outbreak of the Zika virus in South America and tragic complications linked to the disease made headlines throughout 2016, with concerns around the recent outbreak deemed significant enough for the World Health Organisation to declare the Zika virus a public health emergency of international concern.

0:54Skip to 0 minutes and 54 secondsAlthough the disease is now deemed not to be a public health emergency, it is still an ongoing and significant public health problem and will continue to be in the coming months and years. For most people, infection causes short-lived and mild symptoms. However, Zika has now been confirmed as the cause of a birth defect in newborns known as microcephaly, in addition to being linked to other neurological and auto-immune complications. There is no specific treatment or vaccine currently available in the fight against Zika, and the best form of prevention is protection against its vector, the Aedes mosquito. Over the next three weeks, we will come together to examine information and resources gathered from experts in entomology, medicine, and public health.

1:38Skip to 1 minute and 38 secondsThe course uses videos, articles, and discussions to introduce you to the Zika virus, and puts recent outbreaks into context with other vector-borne diseases. During the course, we will introduce the Zika virus, considering where it has come from, its symptoms, and its effects. We will explore the biology of the Aedes mosquito, looking at its life cycle, behaviour, and distribution across the world. We will also discover key methods used to control the Aedes mosquito at both the community and the household level, including destruction of breeding sites, insecticide spray, and other, simple things that can be done around the home.

2:15Skip to 2 minutes and 15 secondsThis course was first launched in July 2016 and has been updated now that the Zika epidemic in South America has moved into the endemic phase. We very much look forward to learning with you, and we would encourage you to participate in course discussions, sharing your thoughts, perceptions, and personal experiences. We hope that you enjoy the course.

Welcome to the course

Welcome to our course, Preventing the Zika Virus: Understanding and Controlling the Aedes Mosquito. I’m Dr James Logan, Lead Educator for the course, Professor in Medical Entomology, and Director of arctec, based at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Why are we here?

An outbreak of the Zika virus in South America and tragic complications linked to the disease have make headlines last year. The World Health Organization declared the recent outbreak of the Zika virus as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

For most people, infection causes short-lived and mild symptoms, but Zika has now been confirmed as the cause of a birth defect in newborns known as microcephaly, in addition to being linked to other neurological and autoimmune complications. There is no specific treatment or vaccine currently available in the fight against Zika, and the best form of prevention is protection against its vector: the Aedes mosquito. How can we achieve this?

What will we learn?

During the next three weeks we will examine information and resources gathered from experts in entomology, medicine, and public health. Each week of the course has a different focus, and throughout our time together we will:

Introduce the Zika virus, considering where it has come from, its symptoms, and effects

Explore the biology of the Aedes mosquito, looking at its lifecycle, behaviour, and distribution across the world

Discover key methods used to control the Aedes mosquito at both a community and household level, including destruction of breeding sites, insecticide spraying and other simple things that can be done around the home.

EN: English, Spanish, and Portuguese translations will be available for all steps along with subtitles for each video. PDF transcripts and slides will also be available in the ‘Downloads’ section of relevant steps. Course notices, sent at the start of each week, will be in English only.

Remember that each step features a Comments area that you can use to share your thoughts and reflections. When you feel happy with the material and ideas covered in a step, please Mark as complete before using the arrow (below right) to move on. You can check your progress using the Progress tab at the top of each page.

We hope that you will find the balance of course material both thought provoking and useful, and we look forward to learning with you!